Kenji Hatanaka

Kenji Hatanaka (28 March 1912-15 August 1945) was a Major of the Imperial Japanese Army who was responsible for the failed 15 August 1945 coup against Emperor Hirohito at the end of World War II, hoping to prevent Japan's surrender to the Allied Powers. He committed suicide when the coup was foiled.

Biography
Kenji Hatanaka was born on 28 March 1912 in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, and he served in the Military Affairs section of the Ministry of War as a Major in the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. Hatanaka was one of the IJA officers who wanted to fight the United States to the end, and he decided to launch a coup against Emperor Hirohito on the night of 14 August 1945 to prevent him from announcing Japan's surrender to the Allied Powers. In the Kyujo incdent, Hatanaka and his mutineers took over the imperial palace, but Minister of War Korechika Anami and general Shizuichi Tanaka called on him to end the coup, with Tanaka himself arriving at the scene to scold Hatanaka. Hatanaka and Lieutenant-Colonel Jiro Shiizaki shot themselves in the plaza in front of the palace after their coup failed.